Foreigner Volume 4, Chapter 28

Volume 4 Chapter 28, Discovery ~ 02

「Rothforts? That's the name I heard earlier. You said that the current princess set a new record.」

　Rico nodded in response to Satoru's voice as he recalled.

「Rothforts is the oldest and most powerful kingdom on this continent. It is said to be under the protection of the Fire Dragon, the Lord of the South. It's a country with a history of over 500 years, established just after the fall of the ancient magic kingdoms.」

「I see, if it's a country with a long history, there's a possibility of ancient documents.」

　Satoru folded his arms and glanced at Leia. On the surface, Leia didn't change her expression, but on closer inspection, her clenched fists were trembling slightly. There must be something wrong with Rico's reaction and Leia's response.

「Well, that's the way it is. As for me, I think I'd recommend Ares first.」

「Why?」

「First of all, no normal person would even think of meeting a Feather Dragon. Because it's so dangerous. Feather Dragon itselves are said to be mild-mannered, but going to its dwelling place is a deadly risk. So I'll tell you about it later. One more thing, Rothforts is simply too far away from here, and the people are generally too proud for a country that has been around for so long. There is a tendency towards exclusivity, so even if a Foreigner like Satoru were to go there, he would just be kicked out. On the other hand, Ares has an academy for wise men, and is open to adventurers, so it's one of the most crowded cities in this lifetime. It's easy to get information there.」

　Satoru groaned at Rico's thoughts as he counted down the days. It's probably because of her profession as thieves that she is so well thought out. It's a perspective that Leia, who is unfamiliar with modern world affairs aside from the magical side of things, and Satoru, who is completely uninformed and somewhat intuitive, does not have.

「I see. Yeah, isn't it fine? What do you think, Leia?」

　When Satoru asked her about it, Leia tilted her head slightly.

「I don't think we need to go to the Chorus Labyrinth. As I said before, it's hard to imagine that a labyrinth inhabited by someone as capable as my mentor, Yarth, is untouched by human hands. So I think Rico's opinion that we should gather information first is correct.」

　It's not my imagination that Leia's voice is a bit lacking in energy. Well then, thought Satoru - the conclusion came quickly.

「Well, I guess so. There's no point in forcing it when the odds are so low. All right, then, let's change our destination to the town of Ares. How far is it?」

「It's quite a distance. Even while riding Minerva, it'll probably take 15 days.」

　At least the roads are well maintained, so we won't get lost. While looking at the lazy world map provided by Leia, he confirmed the location. He can tell by eye that it's some distance away. Out of the corner of his eye, Satoru also saw Rothforts. Rothforts is located at the south-southeast edge of the continent, and is certainly far away.

「...... Hmm, with Rico joining us, we're a little short on food. We don't have any bedding for Rico, so if we can stop by a town somewhere.」

「As for me, I can sleep anywhere with this poncho.」

　Satoru glanced at Rico, who lifted the edge of the poncho, and showed a scowl face.

「I don't feel comfortable with it, you know. I don't like the idea of letting a girl sleep in a thin poncho while I'm the only one who gets warm.」

　Satoru has a feminist side to him, despite what he says. If either the girl or himself had to go through a painful experience, he would choose the painful one without question. However, due to their position as a magical slave, Rico and Leia would not approve of this. If that's the case, it's better to prepare the bedding for Rico so that there will be fewer problems.

　Rico smiled a smile of dismay, with a third of her happiness.

「...... Satoru, you are kind after all.」

「It is true that my Lord is kind, but that is not all. If someone takes advantage of him, he can cut them off immediately. At the very least, Rico, be careful.」

　Rico reacted to Leia's voice with annoyance.

「You mean I'm going to get carried away?」

「No, no, no, we're not fighting, all right? Just take it as an old people's advice.」

　Rico was taken aback by Leia's hurried mending, and Satoru nearly burst out laughing at the words "old people's advice". Leia was younger than him, if only in appearance. However, there was a tenfold difference in their actual ages.

　The reason he didn't laughing was because Leia's attitude was serious.

「Getting used to kindness is scary. Even if you're in a good mood at some point, if you're surrounded by kindness, you'll have fears that you don't realize. Eventually, you will become spoiled, and eventually you will be hated by my Lord.」

　"Ahh", Satoru thought out loud. He had thought of this in his own experience. Satoru was not always kind to everyone. He thinks he makes a good distinction between those to whom he should be kind and those to whom he should not, but if he is constantly treated with kindness, it is possible for anyone to become numb to it.

「Regardless of the circumstances, now that you are one of us, I will protect you as best I can. Partly because my Lord would scold me if I didn't, but also because I have a sense of fellowship with you as well. Of course, it's not something that can be matured today or tomorrow, but now that we've become friends, I want you to be happy as well.」

　Both Leia and Rico described Satoru as kind, but Leia is also very kind-hearted. Of course, she has a stern side as well.

「But of course, if it came down to a choice between you and my Lord, I would choose my Lord. Please don't resent me for that.」

「That's natural. ...... Yep, I got it. Thank you.」

　It's hard to imagine a situation where she have to choose between Rico and Satoru, but Leia says she will choose Satoru, and Rico takes it for granted. Feeling the strength of women, Satoru let out a small sigh. It seems that when it comes to determination, men are no match for women.

　Satoru somewhat absentmindedly took a bite of the fruit that Rico had picked. This one looked like a wild grape. It had a slight astringency, but it was sweet.

「Ah, right. Leia. I'll also tell Rico. The country of Rothforts is related to Leia, right?」

　There was no response from either of them. However, it is true that both of them were alarmed. It's not that they have something to hide, but he can imagine that Satoru would prefer not to ask. That's why.

「I'm not going to ask you. It's only Leia's problem. That's why don't tell me about it, Rico. Leia, if you want to talk to me about it, let me know. I'm not going to force you to to tell me.」

「...... I got it.」

「I'm sorry, my Lord.」

　With Rico's reply, Leia turned a troubled smile to Satoru.

「I've told you before. If you want to talk, talk. You're the one who taught me that gentle lies are also necessary, remember?」

「Mm. ......」

　Satoru smiles kindly at Leia, who smiles tantalizingly at him. Rico couldn't help but let out an involuntary gasp at the sweetness that had almost drifted between them.

「Uhh......It's kind of a private world for the two of you. ......」

　It couldn't be helped. Rico has only known these two for four days, and it's only been two hours since they decided to travel together. There was not enough time.

　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊

　We set our course for Ares and resumed our afternoon journey. With one break in the middle of the day, we start preparing for the night camp again today.

　Minerva goes hunting, and Rico immediately goes to gather firewood. Until Minerva returns, Leia's "Five-Layered Barrier" will have to wait. Since it contains protection against beasts, Minerva will lose track of their position if the barriers are put up.

「So don't leave too much, Rico.」

「Mmm, roger.」

　Without saying a word, Rico started to prepare the food. He doesn't know how good she is at cooking, but she does an excellent job of cooking the wild plants that she must have collected while picking up firewood.

「Minerva, that flying dragon...」

「Mm, yeah.」

「She's pretty big and smart, isn't she?」

「Sort of.」

　Satoru gave no further explanation. It was just a bother, but Rico took the liberty of reading it backwards, and didn't ask any more questions.

　The conversation was cut short.

　There was a noise from above, and Minerva came back. She had a small rabbit-like animal in her mouth and a fruit like an akebi, which she had picked on her first day, on her toes.

　Leia had lit the firewood with the magic of "Ignition" and prepared the water with magic. After all, magic is very useful in this wayl, because there is no need to worry about water, which is the most important thing for traveling.

　He put water and wild plants in the pot, and quickly drained the blood from the small animal's organs before throwing them in. Satoru took out some hardened cheese-like substance from the seasonings he had purchased, and used a knife to fry the rabbit meat in a frying pan while he made the pot dish. It was quite an impressive feat.

「By the way, aren't we going to stop by some village or something and stay the night?」

　Rico asked without stopping her cooking, and Satoru remembered that they hadn't talked much about their trip.

「I don't really intend to. It would be nuisance for the people in the village. Besides, I don't want to stand out too much.」

「Why?」

「I told you. I'm from another world, and I have a hell of a soul, according to Leia.」

「Yup.」

　She doesn't doubt that Satoru has a tremendous soul, though it doesn't feel real. It is because he possesses at least 100,000 souls that he has been able to win over Rico and Zareth, and he has the uncommon existence of the Immortal King under his knee as a magical slave.

「In the world I was in, there was no magic at all. Instead, electricity, a relative of lightning, and the study of science are widespread.」

　Rico twisted her head.

「A world without magic ......? I'm not sure what denki or kagaku means, but」 [TLN: Denki=Electicity, Kagaku= Science]

「For example, this」

　Satoru shows Rico his watch.

「What is, this?」

「It's called a clock, and it's a mechanism that tells the flow of time.」

　Rico widened her eyes. Leia also glanced at Satoru. Come to think of it, I haven't explained the watch to Leia.

「The flow of time? You don't need to see the bells, the sun, or the stars to know the time?」

「That's right. It's a little before the fourth koku now.」

「That's what some of the larger nations, such as Rothforts and Ares, call a mechanical clock, but I've never seen one as small as that」

　Leia annotated. He doesn't know what a mechanical clock is, but there are ways of knowing the time by the position of the sun, stars and moon on earth. Since science is not so advanced, primitive ways of knowing the time are probably the norm here. Fortunately, the daily flow of time is the same as in his original world, and the time on his wristwatch is 5:50 (17.50), and the fourth koku is exactly 18:00. So, it's a little before the fourth koku.

「Wow, ...... That's amazing!」

　Rico looks at his watch curiously. The watch that Satoru wears is an automatic watch from his grandfather's generation, and it does not use electricity. That's why he called it a device.

「I had a tools, knowledge, and wisdom that are not found in this world, and I had a soul that is unparalleled in this world. What do you think about that?」

「Well, you're going to be targeted, right?」

　Rico replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

「Right. My goal is to return to the world where my sister is waiting for me. If anyone stands in my way, I will crush them without mercy, but I have no intention of destroying or dominating the world. I don't want any unnecessary trouble. So I don't want to stand out. You got that?」

「...... At least you're famous in Galhassan's Thieves Guild.」

　Rico replied, and he remembered now that he had forgotten to tell Jim and Kai about it. But he guesses it's too late for that. If it was those two, they wouldn't have given out information that would put Satoru in danger. Because if Satoru is in danger, then Rico is in danger, too.

　Rico nodded after repeating Satoru's words to herself several times.

「...... Yep, got it. I'll keep an eye out for that, too.」

「I'm not going to sneak around any more than I have to, though. It's a pain in the ass.」

　Rico chuckled.

「That's just like Satoru. ...... All right, meal is ready.」

　She put the soup in a bowl and handed it to Satoru. Put some grilled rabbit meat on a plate.

「...... Yep, it's delicious」

　He took a bite out of his bowl. It's almost like a thin cream stew. The rabbit meat has just the right amount of spice, and there's plenty of juice. It's also delicious.

「Really? Thank goodness.」

　Huff, Rico breathed a small sigh of relief, but showed no sign of preparing her own meal. Satoru frowned.

「You eat too, Rico.」

「...... Uh, is that okay? I'm Satoru's slave.」

　The confusion in Rico's voice made he think that perhaps in this world, slaves and masters are not allowed to share a meal together. Strictly speaking, Rico was a magical slave, not a slave, and the fact that Satoru had acquired her was slightly different.

「I don't care about those things. I don't know what the common sense of this world is, but I don't want to oppress you just because you're a slave. Leia doesn't eat, so I feel lonely when I eat alone.」

「If that's the case, I'll be happy to accompany you.」

　Rico immediately poured herself a bowl of soup and ate it. She didn't seem to have much experience with manners as she eats rather vulgarly - well, Satoru can't say much about manners either.

「Eat this too.」

　He stabbed the rabbit meat with his knife and offered it to Rico, who took a bite out of it. Leia, who was far away, looked a little sour. As Satoru had pointed out before, Leia was probably of noble birth. From such a point of view, it would be unacceptable for people like Rico and Satoru to eat in such a vulgar way.

　Rico chews on a piece of rabbit meat that has been cooked just right. She doesn't say it out loud, but her face tells that it's delicious.

「Leia, come here too」

　Satoru called Leia over and sat her down next to him. Leia kept her eyes on the magic book she had purchased at Galhassan.

「Did you find anything new?」

　At Satoru's question, Leia's face fell. It seems that she has discovered more than she thought she would.

「Indeed. After lunch, is it okay to practice magic?」

「I guess so.」

　He have gotten so used to the letters that he doesn't need Leia to read to him anymore. After the sun goes down, he reads books by the light of the fire and the lanterns to get used to writing, or he practices his magic. No matter how much he practices, Satoru shows no signs of running out of magic power, and he doesn't feel tired, so he can't really tell if he's improving or not.

　Leia also looked at the newly joined junior magical slave.

「How about you Rico, do you want to practice magic?

「...... I don't think I have any talent」

　Rico responded with a shrug of her shoulders. Even though she thinks she is not good at it, she is interested in it,

　After lunch, Rico tried the magic of the four elements with Leia's guidance, but there was no sign of becoming a sphere. Satoru, on the other hand, has a good idea of how to make spheres of the four elements. He is currently in the middle of training to make multiple spheres at the same time.

「...... Yep, I guess I don't have any talent on the Four-Element magic.」

「Looks like it.」

　After many attempts with no results, the fatigue from the consumption of magic power finally set in, and Rico, as expected, became depressed and gave up on the training. However, it seems that she has some physical qualities, and she can use some of them in addition to her three strengths of "Contraction," "Light Work," and "Concealment". She had an idea of how to use them.

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